203 People Arrested For DWI Over The Memorial Day Weekend
Each year during Memorial Day weekend, State Police inform the public of an increased patrol and crackdown on drunk and distracted driving. Yet, each year State Police continue to arrest individuals for DWI and write thousands of tickets for violations.
The New York State Police announced Wednesday the results of the Memorial Day enforcement period. According to police, 8,907 tickets were issued for various infractions.
Speeding: 3,332
Distracted Driving: 171
Seatbelt Violations: 420
Move Over Law: 109
Those numbers are down slightly from 2019. In 2019 Troopers issued over 13,000 tickets for various violations. However, the number of DWI arrests only saw a slight decrease from last year. During this most recent crackdown period 203 people were arrested for DWI. During the 2019 enforcement period 225 individuals were busted.
State Police broke down the numbers for each Troop location, including Central New York and The Thruway. The highest number of DWI arrests came from Troop F, which is the Upper Hudson Valley. They had a total of 40 DWI arrests. The next highest DWI arrest region was Troop K, the Lower Hudson Valley. Rounding out the Top 3 was The New York State Thruway patrol, arresting 29 people.
The Central New York Region (Troop D) made 16 DWI arrests. Central New York came in at the third highest number of speeding tickets with 436. We lead the pack with the highest number of distracted driving tickets at 31. CNY saw the second highest number of seatbelt/child restraint tickets at 68. Only 5 'Move Over' law tickets were issued in our region.
More serious numbers include 457 crash investigations, which resulted in 11 injuries and two deaths. As COVID-19 related restrictions begin to loosen in the state and the warmer weather continues to stick around, it is vital that you remain sober and vigilant behind the wheel. Otherwise, you may see the flashing lights of a New York State patrol vehicle in that rear-view window.